


The Trials

by Captain_Holland



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Graphic Violence, Heavy Angst, Heavy Rain - Freeform, Hurt!Matt, Psychological Torture, Torture, Trials, dark and gritty, race against the clock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 14:00:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6426664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Holland/pseuds/Captain_Holland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Heavy Rain AU in which Foggy and Karen are taken hostage by Fisk, and the only way for Matt to save them is to go through trials that will take him to all kinds of extremes - one terrifying trial at a time.</p><p>Fill of a prompt from the Daredevil kinkmeme:<br/>http://daredevilkink.dreamwidth.org/7552.html?thread=15108224#cmt15108224</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Trials

**Author's Note:**

> I think it's clear that this fic will not exactly be a ball full of sunshine and rainbows. Beware for the dark themes mentioned in the tags - no non-con though. But definitely a lot of Hurt!Matt. Based on the trials from the game Heavy Rain. If you like Daredevil, then you'll definitely like to play/watch this game. Also, English isn't my first language so there could be a few mistakes in this. Sorry!
> 
> Hope you like it, OP!

The sky finally broke at 9 PM sharp. The autumn storm took Hell's Kitchen by force in a matter of seconds. Dozens of pedastrians were running through the streets to get home as fast as possible, though a handful decided that the local bar was a better place to hide on a Saturday night.

One man was walking oddly enough at a fast, but steady pace to the other direction. That man was Matt Murdock and to his ear he held a disposable phone. He was soaked to the core but he didn't seem to notice or care about it. If an unknowing person would glance at him, they would see an ordinary guy making a call that apparently couldn't wait until he was inside.

But that was the big problem, wasn't it? It wasn't just any phone call. Matt Murdock had walked into Nelson & Murdock's office that night with two coffee orders for his friends, and had walked out just as fast with the disposable that had gone off as if by magic the moment he walked in.

And now, as only man outside walking in the cold rain with no coat on, he was trying to figure out how the Hell he was going to save his friends.

~~~

"Fisk. If you hurt them, I'll-"

"Yes, you'll do _what_ , exactly? I'm very curious to hear what you think a threat sounds like. You will kill me? I'm here and you're there, and even _one_ little misstep will cause your friend and the lady a rather unpleasant fate. Surely you'd like your girlfriend to keep her face."

Matt's mouth worked a few times to form words, but his throat was so dry all of a sudden that not even a sound came out. He had thought he knew what fear, _actual_ fear, felt like, but nothing could prepare him from this utter feeling of dread heavy in his stomach. Fisk meant his threats, both his spoken ones as his underlying ones. Unlike Matt himself, Fisk wasn't afraid to go through extreme lengths to get what he wants. Which brought the question in mind that had been burning uncomfortably in his head the moment he'd figured out what had happened.

"What do you want, Fisk." He absolutely hated how soft and vulberable his voice sounded, but at least it didn't tremble. Unlike his voice, though, his hand was shaking so hard that he almost dropped the phone a couple of times. Only now he noticed the storm he was in.

"What I want. Well, what is it that people want in general? Power, money? Revenge?"

"If this is about revenge, you should've taken me instead. They don't have anything to do with this. You-"

"Stop talking. You're boring me. I expected more from the blind lawyer who dresses up in a Devil's costume at night, but clearly I was wrong."

It was silent for a while on Fisk's end, and Matt thought about the strange, clipped tones in which Fisk always spoke. He talked like a man not used to talking and uncomfortable with it, but it was in huge contrast with who Fisk actually was. But all that mattered now was that Fisk was about to say something any moment now - Matt could hear it in the way the man breathed, and if Matt concentrated really hard he may have even be able to hear-

"You've got a pen on you, Murdock?"

Whatever Matt had expected, it wasn't this. 

"What?" He asked startled, and his momentarily distraction caused him to walk straight into a garbage bin. The loud metallic sound echoed painfully in his ears and he almost fell over - his cane wasn't with him either, he realized suddenly.

"I take that as a no. You will have to memerize it on the spot, then. Shouldn't be too hard for your lawyer brain," Fisk added with a scoff. "You're going to do something for me. After that, you will do another thing for me. And so on, until I'm satisfied that the message to never cross me again - whether by legal or illegal way - has become perfectly clear to you. Now, you have ten minutes to go to Harding's Garage in the darkest corner of Hell's Kitchen. There you will find a car waiting for with further instructions. Any attempt to call the police or to escape the terms I've set up for you will end in your friends' death. Ten minutes, Mr. Murdock. Don't keep them waiting."

"Wha- Wait!" 

It was too late - the sound of the broken connection beeped painfully hard in his ears and he quickly shut if off with trembling fingers. As he dropped the phone in his pocket he began to run through the streets to the place Fisk had mentioned. The soles of his leather shoes thumped hard on the soaken pavement and besides the sounds of the raindrops falling there was nothing else to hear. Or perhaps there was, but he shut them all out. 

Matt couldn't drive a car. Surely Fisk had realized that, with Matt being blind. He must have. Matt never learned how, with exception of that one time in college when Foggy had drunkenly tried to make him push in one of the pedals - with as consequence that Matt had pressed too hard and they had crashed directly into the parked car in front of them.  
A sharp stab pierced through his stomach at the thought of Foggy tied up somewhere with Karen - if only he could go back to his apartment to get the suit and his weapons. But Fisk had been very clear what would happen if he strayed off from the path paved out in front of him for even one second. The thought of losing his best friends because of his fault was unbearable. No way could he ever live with that knowledge. 

How much time did he still have? Five minutes, two? He finally arrived at the garage and with one swift kick the door went open for him and he stepped inside. The smell of oil and rusted metal pierced his nostrils, but he focused on finding the car. It was there, right in the middle of the room. Matt couldn't tell what kind of car it was and in which state it was, but it seemed like a fairly new one. Shivering from the cold and adrenaline, he opened the door and wanted to step inside when he suddenly sensed another presence there. 

After a moment of surprise, Matt reached out and put his hands around the neck of the man behind the steering wheel.

"Where are they! Tell me!"

Two strong hands clasped Matt's arms, but instead of pushing him away they pulled Matt closer. The man grabbed Matt's hands in an iron grip and pressed them over the man's ears. Then, the man brought one of Matt's hands to the dogtags around the neck Matt had been trying to strangle just seconds before. Matt's fingers involuntarily brushed over the indents on them, and he read the name on them.

"Frank?" Matt breathed out and he immediately stopped struggling. Frank grunted, and then moved his hands over first his mouth and then his ears again. Matt sensed his movements now that he was calmer, and he understood what Frank was trying to say.

"Shit. _Shit._ " Matt stumbled backwards and slammed the door closed. He walked quickly to the passengers' side and stepped into the car beside Frank. Now it wasn't just Foggy and Karen in danger - Frank was involved now as well. How many other people did Fisk have? 

Frank clasped a calloused hand on his shoulder to get his attention, and then pressed on something on the dashboard. A sudden metallic sound of a woman filled the car and Matt jumped slightly before he could control himself.

"Destination will be reached in five miles. Take a turn to your left and drive to the highway. Time given to reach goal: ten minutes. Start the journey?" 

Matt waited for Frank to do something, but with a jolt of fear he realized that Frank couldn't talk - and that he couldn't hear. Matt quickly concluded that there was no screen for Frank to see, and that he would have to guide him to their destination - wherever that was. It didn't matter what waited for Matt there. The important thing right now was that he and Frank would safely arrive. It was his responsibillity. After all, wasn't all of this Matt's fault to begin with? Without him, his friends wouldn't have been in danger. But there was no time to think too long about that. Even if he had enough time, he couldn't break down. Not now.

"Okay, Frank." Matt licked his cracked lips as he grabbed Frank's hand. The man instinctively tried to pull his hand away, but Matt persisted. Matt turned Frank's palm up and formed in quick, but precise measures letters to form a sentence. As a marine, Frank should know about this way of messaging each other. If not, he would have to become a quick learner. 

Luckily, Frank grabbed Matt's shoulder in understanding after the message was over and the car started with a loud roar. Frank quickly drove the car out of the garage and then sped away across the roads at such a speed that it was a good thing everyone was inside right now, and not on the streets. Matt had lost all sense of time the moment he stepped outisde that evening and he didn't even have the slightest idea how much time they had lost in the garage trying to communicate to each other. How much time had they left? What was Fisk doing to Foggy and Karen in the meantime? 

Not to mention what he had done to Frank. Matt couldn't imagine how he must feel with both his hearing and his speaking ripped away from him. Were his handicaps only temporary, or permanent? Another addition on the everlasting list of horrible things Matt Murdock was responsible for. 

A grunt from beside him brought Matt back from his dark thoughts to the even more terrifying reality. They had come to a stop at the side of the highway, judging by the sounds of cars speeding past them. At almost the same time, the cool voice spoke up again from the dashboard.

"Trial one. To remind you of the consequences of going against Wilson Fisk, you will turn around and drive against the traffic to Destination B, at the bridge. Time: five minutes. Are you prepared to show your courage in order to save two lives? Clock starts in ten... nine...-"

Matt's hands shook so bad that he scratched Frank's wrist with his nails. He couldn't form the letters properly in Frank's palm, but he prayed to God in the Heaven above him that he would understand. This time, Matt kept the message to the point and as short as possible. A-G-A-I-N-S-T T-R-A-F-F-I-C. T-O B-R-I-D-G-E. 5-M-I-N-U-T-E-S. N-O-W.

The clock had already started when Matt was done and the car was kicked into gear again. In that moment, Matt wished he was in the right state of mind to thank Frank for doing as Matt asked of him without hesitation. Perhaps Frank only did it because he didn't have a choice himself, but still. If only he could've appreciated Frank and The Punisher more before, even though he still couldn't accept the man's stand on killing people. But now, God help him, Matt could've killed Fisk easily. Or at least he thought he could.

It was both a blessing and a curse that Matt couldn't see the nauseating sight before him of cars driving right at them. A lot of horns blasted, and their car swayed wildly to and fro. Frank began to breathe harder and harder and Matt heard the increasingly rapid beat of the man's heart. Still, the crash that Matt was brazing himself for didn't seem to come for the first few minutes that they were underway. The small space of the car began to reek of sweat from the both of them, and Frank made sounds that sounded like he was swearing with his mouth entirely closed. And perhaps it _was_ closed. Tied shut with a thread, like what happened to Loki in the Norse Mythology.

Yes, the first few minutes went well. Until it suddenly didn't.

What exactly happened, Matt didn't know. What he did know was that one second they were driving like maniacs across the roads, and the other second he seemed to oddly lavicate out of his seat. Before he could put one and two together, they crashed into the bushes beside the highway. The car landed on its roof, and Matt felt a sharp pain in both his head as his shoulder, that got stuck. Frank didn't move at all, but Matt could hear his heartbeat.

They had crashed. Frank did wonderful until what had to be the last mile. Or shorter than that? Either way, Matt kicked at the broken window until it collapsed and he could climb out after a shout of pain when his shoulder finally came free. In the far distance a sirene came closer, and he had the last confirmation that Frank was going to be fine. 

He began to run. His senses were so shaprly focussed on the vast mass of the bridge ahead that his head spun from it. Or was that because of the crash? 

It still rained. In fact, it seemed to rain even harder than before. It had to be almost night by now, and all Matt knew was that he was never going to have enough time again in his whole life. He was utterly powerless and his head throbbed, but it was the thought of his friends - _always_ his friends - that kept him going. And it was that determination to safe them that brought Matt at last to the bridge, that wasn't that far from the car crash after all. In his head he somehow had a picture of the bridge being farther away, but it was only a clear sign that his head injury took its toll on him. 

Everything hurt and he was soaked with sweat and rain, but the phone rang in his pocket and he quickly took it out and pressed it to his ear. He already began to talk when he realized he held it upside down.

"Well done, Mr. Murdock. Despite the amusing tumble off the road, you completed the trial. I'm impressed, I've got to admit it. But then again, perhaps that was only because you had The Punisher himself to aide you. However, do not expect any more help. You walk alone now. Are we clear?"

"You- I- What have you done to him? Tell me where Foggy and Karen are, I did what you-"

"I _hate_ it when people don't listen to me. You would think that you know better than to endanger your friends even more by asking stupid questions. You don't get to say or do anything unless I tell you to do so. Soon, I will contact you again for the next trial. Make sure the cops won't catch you at the crash scene. The moment you come into contact with them, your friends die. Don't disappoint them."

With a click, the beeping noise of the disconnected call plagued his ears again, and his head swan from dizziness. Matt shut it off and stood against the bridge for a moment to catch his breath before he stumbled along in the direction that would bring him away from the car as fast as possible. He was disorientated and hurt, but the adrenaline was still in his veins and it kept him going forward.

One step at a time.

**Author's Note:**

> Frank is my new love, so I just had to put him in the story. Sorry if this part feels a little rushed!
> 
> Please let me know what you think!


End file.
